The standard of love

DAILY BIBLE READING:

2 Samuel 9:1–11:27 
John 15:1-27 
Psalm 119:49-64 
Proverbs 16:1-3

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

John 15:12-13 "This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

We don't have to spend much time in the New Testament before we realize that love is the theme: 

It's the reason Jesus came to earth (John 3:16).
It's what motivated Jesus to help people (Matthew 9:36; 14:14).
It's the essence of every law God has given (Matthew 22:35-40).
It's the attribute that must be present in us or nothing we do will matter (1 Corinthians 13).

On and on we could go. Love is the theme. It's how God has related to us and how God calls us to relate to Him and others.

In our Verses for Today, the standard for this love is clarified... 

Jesus is our example. 
John 15:12 "This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you." 
We are to love others as Jesus has loved us. That means that since Jesus loved us while we were still messed up (Romans 5:8) and nothing we do can ever separate us from that love (Romans 8:38-39), we must provide that same kind of love for other believers.

Sacrifice is our aim.
John 15:13 "No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends."
When Jesus said these words, He was pointing to the death He would die for His disciples to show His love for them. But, He also implied that sacrificing for others demonstrates the kind of love we are to have for each other. If someone has a need and we have the ability to meet that need, then we must be willing to help even if it costs us.

What would it be like in each of our churches and Christian communities if we loved each other this way? It would almost feel like a Heaven on earth, wouldn't it? Unbelievers would definitely be attracted to that kind of love (John 13:35). 

Let's ask the Lord to help us grow in this kind of Christ-like love today ... and then look for opportunities today to love others as Jesus has told us to.